Selling in the Truckee Real Estate Market

July 12, 2008  By: Karen Huntoon

What’s in Store for Buyers and Sellers?

We’re in the midst of a challenging time in the Truckee real estate market and the Lake Tahoe real estate market. One of the most difficult realities for most sellers to face is that prices in their neighborhood may have dropped during the last year or two. The trick is to price your home right for today’s market.

This is a great time to “move up”. In the Truckee real estate market, for example, with today’s lower prices, it is an advantageous time to buy a newer, bigger or different house. As a seller, you may have to sell for less than you would have a few years ago. But, as a buyer, you may also pay a lot less for the next home you purchase.

When should you list? A seller usually has an advantage selling when there isn’t much competition from other listings. In teh Truckee real estate market, listing before the busy summer months can put you ahead of the game. There will be more listings coming on the market in June and July and the seond or vacation home market in Truckee is in full swing by August and September.

Thoughts about pricing: Today’s home buyers are extremely price-conscious. If there is alot of inventory to choose from, price will certainly be a big factor. A price that’s too high for the Truckee real estate market won’t bring the desired result.

In the current environment, buyers are more cautious about what they buy because they know that the property they buy might drop in value before it starts appreciating. They buy for the long term and are less prone to make compromises.

Condition and maintenance: The condition of your property will be scrutinized more carefully in the current market than it would have been a few years ago. You can sell a property that has deferred maintenance. But, you will sell it more quickly and for a better price if you can repair defects and have the property looking great when it hits the market. If this is not possible, take this into consideration in your list price.

Price reductions: It’s difficult to hit the market price for a property if there haven’t been many recent sales in the neighborhood. If you miss the target and find that your home is priced too high, lower it as soon as possible. A price reduction is no longer a stigma in this market. Letting a listing sit on the market too long at a high price sends the wrong message to buyers and could result in a lower sale price if market prices in your area continue to decline.

When we work with you to sell your home we will provide objective opinions about pricing, repairing, replacing and staging. We want to help you get your home sold in the shortest amount of time for the most money. Give us a call at 530-550-5142.